"Show Me The Money"

By Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn

(Mark 10:17-31)

[17] As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" [18] Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. [19] You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.' " [20] He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." [21] Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." [22] When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. [23] Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" [24] And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! [25] It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." [26] They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?" [27] Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible." [28] Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you." [29] Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, [30] who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age--houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions--and in the age to come eternal life.

(NRSV)

INTRODUCTION:

There was a miserly man who made good money all of his life but wouldn't spend it. He doled out what little money he did spend to his wife for groceries and utilities. The rest he kept hidden away in a box behind some loose bricks in their fireplace. As it turns out, the man suffered a heart attack and was dying. He called his wife and told her about the money. She was ecstatic until he told her to put it by the window in the attic so he could grab it as he went by on his way to heaven.

Despite his miserly way, his wife loved him very much and decided to comply with his last request. He died about two hours later. Three days after the funeral, she happened to be in attic doing some cleaning when she remembered the box. It was still there. So was the money. She clutched the box to her, shook her head and in her grief said, "Oh, George, George, George. I knew I should have put it by the basement window."

How many of you have ever fantasized about being filthy rich or independently wealthy? So wealthy that you didn't have to plan the end of your vacation to coincide with payday? I have. If I had half the money that Bill Gates or Michael Jordan has the first thing I would do would be to pay off all of our indebtedness, buy a house, do a little traveling, possibly get my DMIN and then set up a foundation to give all the rest away.

I'm really going to show my age here. How many of you remember the old TV show "The Millionaire"? Every week some deserving soul was given a check for one million dollars. That was one of my favorite shows. Not because I wanted a million dollars but be cause I always wanted to be like that. I would love to be in a financial position to be able to give to those folks in need or those folks who deserve something better without their knowing it. I would love to have an unlimited resource for making the lives of others better. But I would want it to be totally anonymous. There's a certain joy in helping that is increased when only God gets the credit.

I. SHOW:

A. Some people don't know that joy. Some people only do things for show. Their heart and soul aren't in them. How many of you have seen the movie 'Jerry Maguire' with Tom Cruise? The memorable line from the movie was, "Show Me The Money." Even though there was lots of talk about "the money" in the movie. The movie wasn't really about "the money" was it? It was about heart and soul, honor and respect, love and commitment. It was about the difference between just playing the game or doing it for show and giving it your all because that's where your heart is.

Both of the main characters were sort of just doing it for show. There hearts were no longer in it. They had done it for so long that it had lost its freshness. They no longer had that drive. So they went through the motions and did it for show. They both needed a revival of sorts.

B. There's a parallel here in this passage. This rich young man is a very likable guy. Jesus looked at him and loved him. He probably could have been one of the inner circle. His credentials were impeccable. He loved God and was faithful to the commandments. Maybe as a youth or even in his early adulthood he had given his heart and soul to God but that was a long time ago. Now, even though he was still faithful, there was some barrier, something that was troubling his heart and mind and making him feel separated from God. So he came to Jesus for help.

Jesus took one look and knew it was the money. His faith had gotten to that show stage. He didn't feel it. He was still faithful but didn't really know why. It wasn't out of a sense of love for God, so much as it as out a sense of "this is what's expected." He was your typical "good" person. He'd just forgotten why he was supposed to be good. But Jesus saw more than just a "good" person. Jesus saw possibilities of greatness. But Jesus also saw a barrier.

II. THE MONEY:

A. The barrier, of course, was the money. Money is a barrier for a lot people.

It certainly has for my son. Most of you know that my youngest son Joshua is sixteen and a Sophomore at Texas A&M University. He's a graduate of Martin High School, too. But I'm beginning to question the quality of the education that these two great schools offer. You see, the poor child can't spell. He doesn't even know how to spell ten dollars. He keeps writing home, asking for it but he keeps spelling it with two "0's" instead of one.

Money can be a barrier to our faith and our faithfulness. Wealth, position, status, power all of these can get in the way and become barriers to spiritual growth rather than tools. Money isn't bad unless it is a barrier. Money is a good thing but it is possible to pay too high of a price for it, especially when it comes between us and God. And that's exactly what Jesus was pointing out to this young man. His problem wasn't the money. His problem was that the money was first in his life, not God. And God never takes a back seat or plays second fiddle.

B. I read that Henry Ford once asked a young engineer about his ambition in life. The young man replied, "To become very rich; everything else is secondary." A couple of days later, Mr. Ford handed the young man a package containing a pair of glasses. He had removed the glass lenses from the frames and replaced them with silver dollars. He asked the young man to put them on and then asked, "What do you see?"

The man replied, "Nothing! The money blocks out everything."

And Mr. Ford replied, "Maybe you should rethink that ambition of yours."

That's what Jesus was asking this rich young man to do, rethink his ambition, rethink his position, rethink and reprioritize his life. His deficiency was his abundance. The money was getting in the way of his faith and faithfulness. And so Jesus asked him to divest all his money to the poor and invest in God's resources.

III. SHOW ME:

A. Peter and the others were stunned. The prevailing thought of the day was really a prosperity theology. The idea is very Biblical, that God blesses those who are faithful. The only problem is in the interpretation. For most folks then and now, blessing means wealth and power and a life without turmoil or struggle. The pop theology of the day was the notion that the more God loved you the more you were blessed with stuff and wealth. So, by those thoughts, the wealthiest people in society had to be God's favorites. But when this rich young man walked away and Jesus made the comment that "it is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven" it sent all of the disciples into a tail spin. They had to rethink their whole theology and begin to reprioritize their own lives.

B. What Jesus was asking for, wasn't so much a giving up of his wealth, but rather an outward sign of an inner commitment and change in this young man's life and faith. A sign that the barrier had come down, that God was first. The money was the barrier. And what Jesus wanted was for this young man him to follow him. He basically said, "Show me. Show me that God is first. Get rid of the money and show me that God is first."

I don't believe that Jesus' words as we find them in this passage are directed at everyone. But I do believe that the intent behind the words IS for everyone. I don't think Jesus wants every person in the world to sell everything they have, give it to the poor and follow Him. However, I do believe that if there is something that is or has become a barrier in our relationship with God through Christ, then Jesus would call us to divest ourselves of that. No matter what it is.

It might be an attitude such as prejudice or sexism. It might be things or possessions in general. It might be a club or organization. It could be a habit. Only you know what that barrier is.

CONCLUSION:

Sitting in a park one day, I watched a group of children playing on a slide. In the midst of all the energy and excitement there was one little boy who held back. He was reluctant to go down the slide. The others were encouraging him to try. All of a sudden you could see the look of determination on his face and he boldly marched to the slide.

Step by step he climbed the ladder. But when he reached the top and his young eyes saw how far it was to the end of the slide, his resolve crumbled. You could see the fear and disappointment on his face and in his shaky knees as he slowly made his way back down the ladder. He stood on the brink of a momentous decision and was unable to take the last step.

This passage is about decision making, commitment, and separation from God. It's wrapped around wealth and a rich young man's struggle. But at the same time it calls into question the things, attitudes, and practices in our lives that keep us from total commitment. Jesus doesn't want lives that are all show. Jesus wants lives that are all His, heart and soul.

This passage is about ending the separation between us and God by giving up whatever it is that is the barrier in that separation. But mostly this passage is about taking that last step, the step of showing that God is first in our lives. Like the young boy on the slide, like the rich young man, we all stand on the brink of a momentous decision. They both turned away but we don't have to.